Brokers of Modernity

Martin Kohlrausch is professor of European Political History and head of the research unit Modernity and Society at the KU Leuven.

Martin Kohlrausch manages sensibly more than to rewrite the history of Eastern Modernism into the frame of the wider history of modernism. It is his bias and his attachment to the personal narrative of the Syrkus couple, the anecdotes and intimate correspondence between the members of the CIAM, along with the numerous references to cinematography and the literature of the region that turn Brokers of Modernity from an immense research work into a history of Modernism rewritten from an Eastern perspective, proving that not all that is solid melts into air.Ilinca Pop, studies in History and Theory of Architecture, no. 7 (2019): 251-254. https://sita.uauim.ro/article/7-pop-martin-kohlrausch-brokers-of

• Note on Translation Abbreviations Introduction Brokers of Modernity Why Modernist Architects? Modernist Architects and Modernity Thematic and Temporal Structures 1. Modernity in Eastern Europe – East European Modernism? The European East – Sketches of a Projection screen East Central Europe – A Space of Crisis? The Post-Monarchic State and the Legacy of the War Eastern Modernity Conclusion 2. Architects as Experts of the Social: A new Type entering the European Scene New Tasks for Architects Architects and the Rise of the Modern Expert Training Modern Architects The Rise of Scientific Urbanism and the Self-Empowerment of Architects The Lure of the Machine Themes of Change – Architecture as Technology: Rationalization, Planning, and Technocracy 89 Conclusion 3. Organising New Architectural Goals Organising Architects in a New State Architecture in a New Key – the CIAM Self-empowerment – the CIAM and its Polish Group CIAM-Universalism or Eastern Fast-track? The CIAM-Ost Realizers – the WSM as Interface Conclusion 4. Communicating Social Change through Architecture The Spatial Structure of the New Discourse on Architecture The Abstract Heritage of the First World War and the Logic of the Media Architectural Journals and Books as Architectural Programme Travelling, Gathering, Thinking Alike: Architects as Modern Men Communicating Problems and Solutions via Language and Exhibitions Conclusion Gallery with Plates5. Materialising the International Agenda: Warszawa Funkcjonalna The CIAM IV Moment – Politics Coming in Realising the Novel: The Functionalist Laboratory of Zlín The Idea of the Functional City Warszawa Funkcjonalna Conclusion 6. Under Pressure: Modernist Architects and the Rise of Political Extremes Questioned Loyalties and Strained International Exchange Continuity and Rupture – the Onslaught on Warsaw Personal Toll and Collaboration Windows of Opportunity: Warsaw as a Post-catastrophic City Old Bonds and new Attention: Warsaw as a Realized Utopia? 2 Conclusion Epilogue Acknowledgements Notes Bibliography Illustration Credits Index